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GV Connect for iPhone, iPod Touch & iPad

Colored and underlined text indicates new features only available in the upcoming release of the application currently in review by Apple on the iPhone AppStore — some of the screen shots might also reflect the new version and be slightly different from the version currently available for download.

GV Connect is the most feature-rich Google Voice application available for your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad — interact with your existing "Google Voice" accounts much faster than using the web interface:

Please note that GV Connect is not a SIP/VoIP application and will thus not allow making calls from an iPad or iPod Touch without a separate VoIP/SIP application. GV Connect currently does not support answering a call back to your 'Google Talk' callback number directly on the device — see VoIP Calling for current solution that allow making and receiving calls using data only.

GV Connect stores your account password securely in your device's keychain for faster login when launching the application — communication is done via secure connections (SSL) to the Google Voice servers and no contact information (other than the contact's phone number which is required to place a call or send a message) is sent to Google. All operations are fully synchronized with your Google Voice account.

GV Connect is available on the iPhone App Store (requires iOS 11.0 or higher and an existing full Google Voice account including GV phone number).

Macintosh users please also check out the free GV Connect Dashboard Widget (requires MacOS X 10.7 or higher).

Program Usage – Screenshots

Call history

The individual screens of the application are detailed to the left - click the "Next >" button or the screen shot itself to go the the next screen shot. While most screen shots show the iPhone/iPod Touch interface, behavior on the iPad is the same - see the last image for a screen shot of the iPad interface.

Call History List

By default, the call history only shows calls. You can change it to also display SMS conversations and Voicemails by toggling an option in the Settings view.

• Tap any item to show details for the selected call
• Tap and hold any item to show a list of available message actions (on devices supporting "Force Touch" press firmly to peek into the message and swipe up during the peek to show the message actions)
• Tap star to (un)mark a message as starred
• Blocked senders are shown with brown text
• Attached notes are indicated by the little note icon next to the message date/time
• Swipe any item to delete it (depending on what is selected in the Settings, this will either move the item to the Trash or delete it completely) or call back the number
• Filter the list by call type using the buttons on top
• Scroll up (above the first item in the list) to reveal the search box

Call Types Legend:

placed  Placed call
received  Received call
missed  Missed call
recorded  Recorded call
SMS  SMS conversation
voicemail  Voicemail

Next >

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)/Troubleshooting

What are all the calling options supported in GV Connect and how do they work?

GV Connect currently supports the following options to place a call from your Google Voice phone number:

The badge number shown on the application icon doesn't seem to match the actual number of unread messages within the application

The application badge shows the total number of unread items (SMS and Voicemails) in your account. The badge numbers for the individual items inside the application show only the number of unread items that are available locally on your device. Most likely you have older unread items in your account that are not available locally on your device - you can search for all unread items (and mark them as read as required) by entering "is:unread" (without the quotes) in the search field on the GV website when visiting it with a desktop browser. To mark all those messages as read without having to do so manually in badges you could also try to use this script.

I selected 'Google Talk' for the callback ("Start Calls From") and never receive a call back

To answer the 'Google Talk' callback you need to answer the callback from a Desktop browser while logged in to your GMail account. In order to answer calls from your device without any third-party applications you need to select your mobile number to start calls from (or an SIP number connected to your GV number and answer the incoming call from a separate SIP application).

I receive an 'Invalid Number' error message for every number I try to call — I'm sure that the number is correct!

You have to enter the number in one of the following formats:
• '+ [COUNTRY CODE] [AREA CODE] [NUMBER]' – (e.g., '+1…' for US/Candian numbers)
• '011 [COUNTRY CODE] [AREA CODE] [NUMBER]' – for international numbers outside the US/Canada
• '1 [AREA CODE] [NUMBER]' or '[AREA CODE] [NUMBER]' – for numbers in the US/Canada
• '[7–DIGIT NUMBER]' – for US numbers with the same area code as your GV phone number

If you still get the error with numbers entered in on of the above formats, make sure that you have a GV phone number (and are able to use Google Voice outside the GMail web client) and have at least one actual phone number defined as a forwarding number on your Google Voice account on the website and select that number in the "Start calls from" setting — if your only number connected to your Google Voice number is your 'Google Talk' account you will get the 'Invalid Number' error.

I have to re-enter my login information every time the application is started

Your username and password are stored securely in your device's Keychain. In order to ensure that Keychain data is well protected, there are several security checks performed by the system — if any of these fail, the password cannot be stored, resulting in you having to re-enter it the next time the application is launched. If you encounter this issue, please make sure that your device is running the latest system software and that no custom modifications have been done on any of the system files as those might result in failure to properly access the Keychain.

I don't have a Google Voice account — do I get one when buying GV Connect?

No — an existing full Google Voice account (including GV phone number) is required in order to use GV Connect.
If you don't have an account already, you can request an invitation for a new account (currently available to US residents only).
If you can make calls from within GMail on a desktop browser only, you have to upgrade your Google Voice account to a full account (with an actual phone number) using the following steps:
- In GMail, click the Call phone link in the Chat list
- From the Call window, click your current account balance and select "History" or "Add credit"
- Once in Google Voice (which will open in a new window), click the "Get a Google Number" button on the left
- Complete the upgrade steps including picking your new Google number

Can I access my Google/Google Voice contacts from within GV Connect?

Yes — if you set up your Google account using the Exchange protocol (see these instructions on how to do this), all your Google/Google Voice contacts will be accessible from within your device's Contacts application and thus be available to GV Connect (and all other applications as well).

Does GV Connect support Push Notifications for new messages?

Not at this moment — see the section about Push Notifications below for current solutions. However, the application will check for new messages in the background and present a notification in the notification center - selecting this notification will open the application directly to the new message.

How will I get charged for calls and SMS when using GV Connect?

Sending and receiving text messages using your Google Voice number are free (data charges might apply). Note that Google Voice currently does not support international SMS.
When making calls with your Google Voice number using your iPhone, normal calling charges (based on calling your own Google Voice number) apply.
For international outgoing calls placed from your Google Voice number, international calling rates apply (charges will be deducted from your Google Voice account balance) — calling is available worldwide.

Push Notifications

Since all the data accessed by GV Connect is located on Google's servers, there is currently no way to provide push notifications unless you would be willing to either store your Google Voice account information on a third-party server (which would essentially give that party full control of your account) or forward all your SMS and VM notification emails to a third-party email address. As GV Connect currently communicates with Google's servers only, your account information is safe and well protected. Providing push notifications directly within GV Connect would require setup of an additional account on my server in order to be able to redirect the push notifications correctly — this makes the separation between credentials and user data much less clear and would require a large amount of trust on the side of the user.

That said, there are a few solutions available already to enable push notifications for new unread SMS and voicemails without having to potentially compromise your user credentials or data:

GV Connect supports the following URL schemes for launching the application and execute custom actions (please note that all URL handlers are case-sensitive and that all have to be properly URL-encoded. Most schemes also support adding an additional "account=[ACCOUNT_NAME]" parameter to specify which account to switch to when using multiple accounts):

VoIP Calling (using your Google Voice number to make & receive calls using data only)

At this moment GV Connect is not an SIP/VoIP client and thus does not allow to make phone calls using data only (e.g., using your 'Google Talk' number as a callback number and place calls without using any of your cell phone account's minutes). However, using a third-party application you can do so (meaning the following works on an iPad or iPod Touch as well):

Using a CALLCentric phone number

  1. Sign up for a free SIP account with CALLCentric - this will give you free incoming calls with a real phone number
  2. Add your new CALLCentric phone number as a forwarding number to your GV account on the Google Voice website
  3. Use an SIP client (e.g., Groundwire or Softphone) on your device to set up your CALLCentric account.
  4. Choose your CALLCentric number as the "Start Calls from" number in the Settings of GV Connect. Upon placing a call you will receive the callback on your phone and your SIP client application should present you with a push notification — simply answer that push notification and you will be connected to your target phone number using data only (WiFi or 3G if you have cellular data and allowed for 3G calls in your SIP application). If the VoIP application supports background operation you can also receive incoming calls to your GV number by answering them with your VoIP application as long as you enable your CALLCentric phone number in the "Call Forwarding" section in GV Connect's Settings

List of applications that interact with GV Connect

The following is a list of other applications that allow for interaction with GV Connect:

If you know of other applications that can interface with GV Connect please let me know and I'll add them to the list.

3.9.1 (May 21, 2023 – released on the iPhone App Store May 22, 2023)

Version History

3.9.0 (March 12, 2023 – released on the iPhone App Store March 20, 2023)

Show full version history
Hide older version history

3.8.5 (February 4, 2023 – released on the iPhone App Store February 8, 2023)

NOTE: As of this version, the lowest supported iOS version is iOS 11.

3.8.4 (July 16, 2022 – released on the iPhone App Store July 20, 2022)

3.8.3 (June 16, 2022 – released on the iPhone App Store June 17, 2022)

3.8.2 (June 5, 2022)

3.8.1 (May 29, 2022 – released on the iPhone App Store May 30, 2022)

3.8.0 (May 21, 2022 – released on the iPhone App Store May 23, 2022)

3.7.0 (April 10, 2022 – released on the iPhone App Store April 12, 2022)

3.6.1 (September 19, 2021)

3.6.0 (August 29, 2021)

3.5.15 (August 7, 2021)

3.5.14 (July 2, 2021 – released on the iPhone App Store July 3, 2021)

3.5.13 (February 20, 2021 – released on the iPhone App Store February 21, 2021)

3.5.12 (November 13, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store November 14, 2020)

3.5.11 (October 23, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store October 24, 2020)

3.5.10 (October 17, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store October 18, 2020)

3.5.9 (August 27, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store August 28, 2020)

3.5.8 (August 13, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store August 14, 2020)

3.5.7 (April 26, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store April 27, 2020)

3.5.6 (April 6, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store April 7, 2020)

3.5.5 (March 21, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store March 23, 2020)

3.5.4 (March 6, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store March 7, 2020)

3.5.3 (February 22, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store February 23, 2020)

3.5.2 (January 31, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store February 1, 2020)

3.5.1 (January 23, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store January 24, 2020)

3.5 (January 21, 2020 – released on the iPhone App Store January 22, 2020)

3.4.5 (December 8, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store December 9, 2019)

3.4.4 (October 18, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store October 19, 2019)

3.4.3 (September 29, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store September 30, 2019)

3.4.2 (September 22, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store September 25, 2019)

3.4.1 (September 18, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store September 20, 2019)

3.4 (September 14, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store September 16, 2019)

3.3.5 (May 11, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store May 13, 2019)

3.3.4 (February 5, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store February 6, 2019)

3.3.3 (January 29, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store January 30, 2019)

3.3.2 (January 28, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store January 29, 2019)

3.3.1 (January 3, 2019 – released on the iPhone App Store January 4, 2019)

3.3 (December 31, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store January 2, 2019)

3.2.5 (September 21, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store September 22, 2018)

3.2.4 (July 7, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store July 9, 2018)

3.2.3 (June 12, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store June 13, 2018)

3.2.2 (April 8, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store April 9, 2018)

3.2.1 (March 27, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store March 28, 2018)

3.2 (February 13, 2018)

3.1.14 (January 27, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store January 29, 2018)

3.1.13 (January 19, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store January 20, 2018)

3.1.12 (January 18, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store January 19, 2018)

3.1.11 (January 8, 2018 – released on the iPhone App Store January 9, 2018)

3.1.10 (January 3, 2018)

3.1.9 (December 29, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store December 30, 2017)

3.1.8 (December 21, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store December 22, 2017)

3.1.7 (December 1, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store December 3, 2017)

3.1.6 (November 26, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store November 27, 2017)

3.1.5 (November 21, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store November 22, 2017)

3.1.4 (November 19, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store November 20, 2017)

3.1.3 (November 2, 2017)

3.1.2 (October 7, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store October 8, 2017)

3.1.1 (October 3, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store October 4, 2017)

3.1 (September 18, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store September 19, 2017)

3.0.4 (August 12, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store August 17, 2017)

3.0.3 (July 22, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store July 24, 2017)

3.0.2 (May 5, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store May 8, 2017)

3.0.1 (May 2, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store May 3, 2017)

3.0 (May 1, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store May 2, 2017)

NEW FEATURES:

CHANGES IN BEHAVIOR:

OTHER IMPROVEMENTS & BUG FIXES:

2.6.2 (January 28, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store January 30, 2017)

NOTE: This version does not include any of the new features (MMS, group messaging) just introduced by Google yet. It is a quick release to restore functionality which broke due to the server-side changes. Support for the new features will be added in a future release.

2.6.1 (January 25, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store January 26, 2017)

2.6 (January 22, 2017 – released on the iPhone App Store January 24, 2017)

NOTE: Starting with this version, the minimum supported iOS version increases from iOS 8.0 to iOS 9.0 in order to be able to utilize new system features.

2.5.2 (December 19, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store December 20, 2016)

2.5.1 (December 10, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store December 13, 2016)

2.5 (November 29, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store December 2, 2016)

2.4.8 (October 12, 2016)

2.4.7 (July 10, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store JuLy 11, 2016)

2.4.6 (June 12, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store June 13, 2016)

2.4.5 (May 26, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store May 27, 2016)

2.4.4 (March 23, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store March 24, 2016)

2.4.3 (February 23, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store February 24, 2016)

2.4.2 (February 11, 2016 – released on the iPhone App Store February 12, 2016)

2.4.1 (October 6, 2015 – released on the iPhone App Store October 15, 2015)

2.4 (September 11, 2015 – released on the iPhone App Store September 16, 2015)

Note: as of version 2.4 the minimum system requirement is iOS 8 - older system versions are no longer supported.

Support for new features in iOS 9:

Updates & improvements for all supported versions of iOS:

2.3.11 (July 25, 2015 – released on the iPhone App Store July 28, 2015)

2.3.10 (July 15, 2015 – released on the iPhone App Store July 16, 2015)

2.3.9 (June 4, 2015 – released on the iPhone App Store June 14, 2015)

2.3.8 (May 28, 2015)

2.3.7 (May 3, 2015 — released on the iPhone App Store May 8, 2015)

2.3.6 (April 22, 2015 — released on the iPhone App Store May 1, 2015)

2.3.5 (February 1, 2015 — released on the iPhone App Store February 10, 2015)

2.3.4 (January 5, 2015 — released on the iPhone App Store January 13, 2015)

2.3.3 (December 7, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store December 15, 2014)

2.3.2 (October 7, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store October 15, 2014)

2.3.1 (September 22, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store October 3, 2014)

2.2.11 (August 23, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store August 25, 2014)

2.2.10 (August 9, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store August 13, 2014)

2.2.9 (July 9, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store July 11, 2014)

2.2.8 (June 4, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store June 6, 2014)

2.2.7 (May 8, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store May 9, 2014)

2.2.6 (May 4, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store May 7, 2014)

2.2.5 (April 12, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store April 16, 2014)

2.2.4 (March 10, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store March 12, 2014)

2.2.3 (February 18, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store February 23, 2014)

2.2.2 (February 8, 2014 — released on the iPhone App Store February 17, 2014)

2.2.1 (December 12, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store December 13, 2013)

2.2 (December 4, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store December 12, 2013)

Please note: starting with this version GV Connect requires iOS 6 or above

2.1.5 (October 18, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store October 23, 2013)

2.1.4 (October 6, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store October 9, 2013)

2.1.3 (September 29, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store September 30, 2013)

2.1.2 (September 24, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store September 25, 2013)

2.1.1 (September 20, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store September 20, 2013)

2.1 (September 11, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store September 18, 2013)

The application now takes advantage of exciting new features available in iOS 7 while still being fully compatible with earlier system releases:

Additionally, this version also includes various bug fixes and stability improvements based on user submitted bug reports

2.0.4 (August 17, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store August 21, 2013)

2.0.3 (July 13, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store July 20, 2013)

2.0.2 (June 30, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store July 8, 2013)

2.0.1 (June 7, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store June 14, 2013)

2.0 (May 22, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store June 6, 2013)

1.12.5 (May 10, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store May 15, 2013)

1.12.4 (May 6, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store May 10, 2013)

1.12.3 (April 10, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store April 14, 2013)

1.12.2 (March 29, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store April 2, 2013)

1.12.1 (March 16, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store March 21, 2013)

1.12 (March 7, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store March 11, 2013)

1.11.1 (January 17, 2013 — released on the iPhone App Store January 23, 2013)

1.11 (December 12, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store December 17, 2012)

NOTE: In order to fully support the iPhone 5 this version requires iOS 5 or higher. Please back up the current version of the application before updating if you are still using an older system

1.10.4 (September 24, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store October 2, 2012)

1.10.3 (September 12, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store September 19, 2012)

1.10.2 (August 2, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store August 6, 2012)

1.10.1 (July 30, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store August 2, 2012)

1.10 (July 18, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store July 29, 2012)

1.9.5 (June 16, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store June 25, 2012)

1.9.4 (April 26, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store May 2, 2012)

1.9.3 (April 6, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store April 12, 2012)

1.9.2 (March 7, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store March 14, 2012)

1.9.1 (February 13, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store February 14, 2012)

1.9 (February 6, 2012 — released on the iPhone App Store February 13, 2012)

1.8.7 (November 14, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store November 19, 2011)

1.8.6 (October 5, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store October 8, 2011)

1.8.5 (September 21, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store September 27, 2011)

1.8.4 (August 17, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store August 23, 2011)

1.8.3 (August 2, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store August 5, 2011)

1.8.2 (July 13, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store July 20, 2011)

1.8.1 (June 19, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store June 23, 2011)

1.8 (May 4, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store May 9, 2011)

1.7.3 (April 10, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store on April 18, 2011)

1.7.2 (April 2, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store on April 8, 2011)

1.7.1 (March 9, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store on March 16, 2011)

1.7 (February 21, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store on February 28, 2011)

1.6.1 (February 5, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store on February 8, 2011)

1.6 (January 7, 2011 — released on the iPhone App Store on January 10, 2011)

1.5.1 (December 18, 2010 — released on the iPhone App Store on December 20, 2010)

1.5 (December 11, 2010 — released on the iPhone App Store on December 14, 2010)

1.2.3 (November 16, 2010 — released on the iPhone App Store on November 23, 2010)

1.2.2 (November 8, 2010 — release on the iPhone App Store on November 15, 2010)

1.2.1 (October 20, 2010 — released on the iPhone App Store on October 27, 2010)

1.2 (October 11, 2010 — released on the iPhone App Store on October 19, 2010)

1.1 (September 30, 2010 — released on the iPhone App Store on October 5, 2010)

Tighter integration with device contacts

SMS improvements

New preference settings

Miscellaneous changes & fixes

1.0.1 (September 19, 2010 — released on the iPhone App Store on September 27, 2010)

1.0 (released on the iPhone AppStore on September 17, 2010)

Initial release.

Disclaimer

GV Connect respects and guards your privacy — no device information of any kind (device type, system version, unique device identifier, …) is ever sent to any server for tracking or other purposes without your knowledge. Your Google Voice account password is stored securely encrypted in your device's Keychain and cannot be accessed by other applications or retrieved from a device backup on your computer. No personally identifiable information or (e.g., account username) or message data is ever passed through any third-party servers - the application communicates exclusively with the Google Voice servers maintained by Google.

Google Voice is a trademark owned by Google, Inc. — GV Connect is not affiliated with or endorsed by Google or Google Voice.
Changes on the Google Voice website might disrupt the application — if this happens, I will try to update the application as quickly as possible to restore its functionality.
 

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